


In The Stillness of Remembering

by weaselett



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Case Fic, Gen, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2018-05-24
Packaged: 2019-05-13 10:12:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14746871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weaselett/pseuds/weaselett
Summary: Joy has spent half her life haunted by ghosts from her past, with no chance to lay them, until now.





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Lovely cover art by Icefallstears - art post here: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Criminal_Minds_Bang_2018/works/14675823

[](https://imgur.com/ygsVJAo)

 

Joy Rossi startled awake to the oppressive feeling of being watched.

Her hotel room, paid for by work, was partly lit by the street lights outside. A glance at the clock told her it was the early hours of the morning, and she hadn't gotten anywhere near enough sleep after two long days of meetings and lectures.

But that hardly mattered to her visitor.

Silhouetted against the curtain was a familiar form and Joy closed her eyes, burying her face in the covers. "You're not real." She said, "You're not real, you're just my brain's way of dealing with my guilt. You are not real."

"He's going to kill again." The girl's voice was soft, but so real. That was always the thing that made it so damned hard to ignore her. Meds had never helped, and the doctor's always pointed out that, as a sensitive, things like this were just a part of her makeup.

The best thing she could do was remind herself that the visions weren't real. They were just her subconscious misfiring in a visible way.

It was so much easier to say than to believe.

Joy took a long moment, pushed back the panic, reminded herself that of course, given her assignment, this had been bound to happen. She couldn't deny this part of herself, she just needed to cope, figure out what her subconscious wanted, and move forward.

"You always say that." Joy said, shifting around so she could sit comfortably, back against the headboard. She didn't really want to look at the girl, didn't want the reminder of her failure, but she had always faced these things head on.

"He was tempted, but he hasn't yet." The curtains shifted as though the girl had actually made physical contact with them, a ripple of light flickering through the room. "There's going to be more girls like me."

Joy swallowed hard, glancing across the room towards the desk and the stack of files. "Tell me something I don't already know."

The girl shifted, "There's another girl, she needs your help."

Joy laughed, "I'm a journalist." She shook her head and ran a hand through her hair. "There's a limit to how much I can do."

The girl stood, moved closer, and Joy had to swallow hard and look away. Sometimes, she looked so normal, others, she was a creature from nightmare. Her imagination filling in the gaps that reality was never able to.

"Your father can help."

Joy jumped as a hand seemed to brush against her own, and she looked up into that ruined face.

"You should go see him." It was an order, and Joy couldn't help but nod helplessly. A moment later she was alone in the half darkness of her hotel room.

She closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath, then reached for her phone, needing to hear Shawn's voice. Then, she guessed, she'd need to head to DC.

See if there was a reason that her subconscious thought she needed to see her father so badly.

-

She was in the trunk of a car. She was sure of it. 

She had no idea how long she’d been there, she wasn’t sure of anything really, just that it smelled and she had a horrific headache.

She rolled as the car turned a corner and whimpered, all too aware of what she’d just rolled into. She could remember drinking, and a party, and she was sure she’d been on her way home, back to her dorm. 

And then, darkness. 

She took a breath then screamed and screamed, desperate, before she sagged, panting. People told horror stories about things like this. The kinds of girls it happened to.

There were other things too, she knew, things you were supposed to do, to let people know you were in the boot, but she couldn’t focus. 

The car sped up, and she failed to fight back the nausea, tears streaming down her face. She rolled again, awkwardly, then the car took a corner too fast,and she couldn’t catch herself, couldn’t stop her head from colliding with the inside of the car. 

She fell back into the darkness. 

-

Bad news had a way of colouring the very air. There was no way that Morgan’s interview had gone well. 

Dave sighed, shaking his head. As much as he wanted to pop his head into Aaron’s office and find out the details, there were far better things to focus on. 

Today was JJ’s first day back, Garcia had sorted out a whole surprise and desk redecoration, he was going to focus on that, for at least an hour. Whatever it was, whatever the full details were, that Aaron and Morgan were discussing, could wait. 

Dave couldn’t help but smile as he caught sight of Reid, hunched over his phone. “JJ’s going to come walking through that door any minute kiddo.”

Reid jumped, almost dropping his phone and Dave automatically reached out to stop him from going over. “You good?”

Reid hesitated, looking back at his phone screen, “It’s just...Maeve’s getting a bit restless.”

Dave grinned, “Ah, she’s formally banned from the lab now then?”

“It’s best, at this point, I mean, there’s so much in her lab that could pose a threat to the baby, but she didn’t want to stop working until she really had to, but now, there’s only maybe a month left, at the very most, so…” 

Dave waved a hand, “She’s bored, you’re feeling guilty, but also entirely unsympathetic because the fact she was still working in the lab was driving you crazy.”

Reid opened and closed his mouth a few times before he smiled, shrugging, “JJ keeps telling me I’m worrying too much. And reminding me that Maeve’s the one who's pregnant, not me.”

“That’s very true.” Dave said.

“I just…”

“Hey I get it kiddo, it’s hard, and terrifying at this point…” 

Reid’s smile turned shy, “Yeah, I just can’t believe I’m going to be a dad.”

“I can’t believe that the BAU is going to have produced three kids in less than a year.” Dave replied smiling.

“We have been especially fertile of recent.” Garcia appeared in a whirl of colours, one single gift bag hanging off her arm. Dave felt his eyebrows raise and Garcia frowned at him, then glanced at the bag, before she straightened, the image of an offended kitten in heels, “I am behaving…”

“By behaving you mean you already gave JJ so many presents when Michael was born you’re finally giving the rest of us a chance?” Dave asked. 

“I am behaving.” Garcia replied and Dave laughed, holding up the small wooden box that held his offering. 

“I would bet good money that I am the only one of you to get a gift for the father.”

“Will has two boys now, is that not gift enough?” Garcia asked, “But seriously, JJ is our girl.”

Dave smiled, reaching out to pat her arm, “I know kitten, but don’t forget, there will be another round of gift giving soon enough.”

Reid’s eyes widened, “Please don’t buy me cigars.”

Garcia laughed, reaching out to grab Reid’s arm and drag him closer to the doors. “We know you far better than that boy wonder, don’t you fret.”

Dave followed them unable to hold back his smile. It was nice, to have so much good news so close together, even if it had been making life a little more difficult work wise. 

He eyed the small pile of mixed books on the table, then looked to Reid, “Just what is this collection?”

Reid blushed, “Maeve pointed out that not everyone’s kids are going to want old reference books, and with our own small miracle on the way…”

“You are going to hand yours down to your own mini genius.” Garcia proved, punching him lightly in the arm.

Reid edged away from her, hand coming to rest on the top of the pile, just as JJ pushed open the doors. 

Garcia squealed, moving forward to hug their friend, before pulling her over to join them. Dave resisted the urge to give the game away by laughing at how obviously Garcia blocked JJ’s eyeline to her desk. 

“More presents?” JJ asked, taking the cigar box he offered her with a bright smile.

“Just a few, we couldn’t not celebrate having you back!” Garcia said and JJ laughed.

“Just in time as well.” She raised her eyebrows to Reid who blushed again, then waved a hand at the books. 

“Books Maeve and I enjoyed as kids. They might be a little old fashioned, but variety is good for children’s minds.”

“That’s sweet, thank you, and Maeve, I’m sure the boys will love them.”

“And now, a special treat…” Garcia pulled JJ towards her desk, gift bag swinging, “Ta-dah.”

“This is amazing.” JJ reached out, touching each of the photo frames in turn. “This is perfect. Thank you.”

“We also have bureau approved bubbly,” Garcia waved at the bottle and glasses set to one side of the desk, “and,” she held out her gift bag, “I visited that amazing store and I thought these would be perfect for you.”

JJ took the bag, pulling out two delicate glass bottles and she smiled. “Oh wow, Penelope….”

Garcia waved a hand, “Say no more.”

Reid stared at the bottles, “Are those, memory bottles?”

JJ nodded, running a finger over the engravings, “My dad has two sets of these.” She smiled, “I have one already, mom gave it to me for Henry’s first birthday.”

“It’s a sensory memory holder?” Reid asked, gaze still fixed on the bottles. It was always a surprise, when Reid had one of these moments, Dave always thought they’d finally exposed the kid to enough of each of their cultural quirks that he would have read everything he could find. 

It wasn’t like there was anything like a lack of reliable reading on elementals, at least not when it came to the visible things, and memory bottles were one of those things that ungifted seemed to love the idea of. Even if they didn’t really understand them. 

JJ smiled at Reid, though she didn’t let him take the bottles. “It’s hard to explain, for me, every moment has a unique sense to it, in the air around us. I can take a piece of that moment and move it into one of these, and all I have to do to remember it is open the bottle.” 

“It doesn’t escape or fade?”

JJ shook her head, “Spence, I can keep it from escaping.” Her smile turned sympathetic, then she nodded up towards Aaron’s office. “It’s shame you couldn’t all be here.”

Reid deflated, just a tiny bit in the face of JJ’s sidestep, but he didn’t push. There were some things, they’d learned over the years, that the kid just couldn’t quite grasp, though he did a lot better than most. 

“Debriefing,” Dave provided, watching as JJ slipped the bottles back into their bag then into her bottom drawer. “It’s been an interesting few months.”

JJ nodded, “So I heard.”

“But right now,” Garcia poured cider into six of the glasses, “we are celebrating having you back.”

JJ laughed, accepting the glass, “So, what’s Tara Lewis like?”

-

Joy’s hands shook as she handed her ID to the gate guard, trying her best not to look freaked out. 

To look normal. 

“I’m visiting my father, Agent Rossi.” She explained and waited while they checked that she was on the screened list before handing back her ID and waving her through.

She’d had some peace during the flight, which she had been insanely grateful for. There was only much she could have done, trapped in a confined space with so many other people, not possible route of escape. 

But from the moment she’d pulled out of the rental lot, her company had returned, babbling and muttering on the backseat. There was something so unnerving, having a hallucination apparently having a nervous breakdown in the car you were driving. 

Joy swallowed hard, focusing on the road, on not crashing. 

She couldn’t help the occasional flinch, when the babbling turning into screams. 

She took a deep breath, pulling into one of the visitor parking spots, putting the car in park and killing the engine. “We’re here, this is where my dad works.”

It took a moment, but the babbling stopped. “The famous profiler David Rossi.” She sounded just like anyone else would, if they’d spent half an hour endlessly breaking. 

Joy nodded, “That’s the one.”

“He’ll stop him.”

Joy nodded, “Yeah, he will. I know he will.”

The girl rocked back and forth, legs pulled up against her chest, staring listlessly out of the window. “No more death.”

Joy swallowed hard, looking at the files on the passenger seat, “I really hope so.”

-  
It really shouldn’t have been that much of a surprise that his phone would choose to ring just as Aaron and Morgan joined the group. These things just always managed to have the best timing. 

Dave sighed pulling his cell out of his pocket and glancing at the screen as he stepped away from the group. “SSA Rossi.”

“Hey Dad, it’s me.” His daughter’s voice came through, a little more muffled than usual. 

“Joy?” He was pretty sure he’d programmed all of her numbers into his phone. He was normally very careful about that. 

“Yeah, I’m using my work phone.” She sounded distracted. Dave ignored the meaningful look that was being directed his way. Joy would tell him, if he gave her the chance. He wasn’t going to push….too much. 

“Are you still at that conference in New York, or...?” Dave watched as Aaron unsurprisingly turned down the cider, handing over an envelope to JJ instead while Garcia pouted. 

“No. I left early. I, we need to talk.” The sound of a car door closing came clearly over the phone. “Are you at the office?”

“I am.” Dave replied, shoulders sagging a little. So much for focusing on the good for a while. No way was whatever Joy wanted to talk about good, not if she’d left New York to come see him in person. “I’ll come meet you in the foyer.”

-

Joy followed her father out of the elevator and through the glass doors, into the bullpen that she had only glimpsed the last time she’d visited the building. Joy shook her head, she needed to focus, not dwell on the past.

As tempting as it might be. 

Joy tightened her grip on her folio, taking a deep breath only to stop, thrown. She looked around the room, trying to figure out the source of the smell. For just a moment, she’d been so sure she could smell blood, the metallic taste was faint, along with a cool breeze and charcoal. 

She swallowed hard, feeling the blush creeping across her face as she realised that her father’s team were watching her and she was just standing there. 

“Joy?”

She met her father’s concerned gaze, offering an apologetic smile, “Sorry, I just….I have a lot on my mind.”

Her dad nodded, then motioned towards the offices on the mezzanine level. “My office is just up here.”

Joy nodded and forced herself to start moving again, following her father into the relative privacy of his office. She watched silently as he closed the door then lowered the blinds, feeling herself relax fractionally. 

Her dad moved around to stand behind his desk, and she couldn’t help but be grateful to him. She needed that distance, the sense that it was the job, not her personal life. 

“I’ve been working on a long form piece, for “Esquire”, on campus violence against women.” Joy unzipped her folio, pulling out the outline files she’d managed to pull together. Four girls lives in summary. “I came across this pattern, when I was checking my sources.” Joy was aware of the other presence in the room, lurking in the sunlight by the window and she could feel her hands shaking. 

She watched as her father flicked through the pictures, wondering what he saw when he looked at them. When he heard their stories. 

“Missing freshmen and sophomores, all women, four of them over nine years. Taken from different east coast campuses. Their families didn’t realise they were missing until the trail was cold.” Joy crossed her arms over her stomach, fighting the urge to edge closer to the door, away from the soft muttering coming from across the room. She cleared her throat, “I, um, I put out an alert, on campus chat rooms, and I got a call this morning.”

She pulled her phone out of her bag, opening the picture she’d received, just hours before. She’d already been on the way to the airport then, but he didn’t need to know that. “This is Bahni Desai, according to her sister she went missing from Judy Temple College last night.”

Her dad took the phone, gaze flicking from the new picture to those spread across his desk. “What do the campus police think?”

Joy shifted, “It’s been less than 24 hours. There’s nothing they can do.” She risked a glance towards the window, meeting those eyes that had haunted her for so long before she squared her shoulders, turning to meet her dad’s gaze. “It might be a coincidence, but I have cried with four families, I don’t want to cry with a fifth.”

He looked away first, gaze resting on his couch for a moment before he looked back down at the files, nodding. “I….” He sighed, shaking his head, then stepped out from behind his desk. “Can you give me a minute?”

Joy nodded, hands tightening around her empty folio case, fighting a losing battle against the rising hope. 

He hadn’t said no. 

-

Dave stepped out of his office and caught Aaron’s gaze, nodding towards the other man’s office. Aaron’s shoulders slumped, just a little, as he reached out to touch JJ’s arm, obviously apologising for having to leave. 

JJ waved him off while Morgan raised a questioning eyebrow at Dave. Like they hadn’t all figured out exactly what was coming the moment he’d led his tense daughter into the bullpen.

Dave waited for Aaron to step into his office first, letting the other man settling into his chair. Formal, just as he’d done for Joy, moments before. 

“Joy might have a case for us.” Dave decided to just plough straight in, “She’d been looking into campus violence against women, she’s pretty sure she’d found a pattern. Four women, taken over nine years, and last night, another woman went missing, from Judy Temple.”

Aaron’s eyes narrowed and he lent back in his chair. Dave could feel the weight of his friend’s gaze, could tell that Aaron was weighing things up in his mind. Aaron sighed, obviously making a choice he wasn’t comfortable with, “Dave, you didn’t mention that Joy was a sensitive.” 

Dave froze, staring at his friend, “What?” 

Aaron frowned, straightening in his chair, “You didn’t know?”

“What? No, I mean, she can’t be, I would have noticed…..” Dave trailed off, trying to remember the first time he’d spoken to Joy, if he’d gotten any kind of an impression off her. 

“When you brought her in, as soon as she was within range, she froze. I may not be a sensitive, but I know full well how sensitives respond to me.” Aaron said, and Dave couldn’t help but wince. He’d noticed her stall, he just hadn’t connected the two things. 

But of course, Aaron would notice.

Dave couldn’t manage living his whole life with random people flinching, or worse, whenever they encountered him for the first time. Everyone who fell into the ‘gifted’ category got it to an extent when they encountered a new sensitive for the first time, but for Aaron, and others like him, it was a very distinct thing. 

The fact that Aaron never really commented on it always amazed him. Then again, he wouldn’t be surprised if his friend had managed to train himself to think of it positively. It did, after all, mean he could ID sensitives with little effort, something that could be an important advantage in their line of work. 

Dave shook his head, forcing himself away from the distraction of profiling Aaron, trying to focus instead on his memory of the first time he’d met Joy. 

“The first time we met, it was a public place, enough people around that I just didn’t match it to her. If I’d known she was my daughter then, I might have thought different, but honestly….” Dave sighed, rubbing a hand across his chin, “This changes things.”

Aaron nodded, “It does. We haven’t been invited in by the locals, but if Joy feels like this is something we need to look into….”

Dave frowned, “You’re assuming that Joy’s being a sensitive somehow relates to this case.”

Aaron hesitated, and Dave felt the weight of his friend’s gaze, “Dave, she’s your daughter and a sensitive. She’s clearly distracted, and this is clearly personal in some way.”

“It is to me.” Dave jumped in, “Joy’s my daughter and she’s come to me for help.”

Aaron’s expression turned a little pinched, but Dave couldn’t fight the urge to get defensive. Neither of them talked about this stuff, sure they both knew what the other was, but they had managed to go years without really discussing it, or dealing with what it meant. 

“We can get answers faster than Joy can on her own.” Aaron replied after a tense moment, as through finishing an entirely different version of their conversation. “We’ll do what we can to rule out foul play, if we can’t, we’ll start an official investigation.”

Dave hesitated, knowing he shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, but also hating the feeling that Aaron had agreed too quickly. That Joy being a sensitive had swayed his response. 

Aaron sighed. “Dave, if Bahni Desai is in the kind of trouble Joy thinks she is, the sooner we find her the better.” Aaron said, voice carefully even, all too obviously aware of Dave’s inner battle. 

Dave rubbed his eyes then nodded. “Yeah, right.” He swallowed, “I would appreciate it if...” 

“I won’t mention it, unless it becomes necessary, and then I’ll do it in private.” Aaron replied, firm. 

Dave hesitated then nodded. Aaron was walking a fine line, for him and Joy, he could respect the boundaries he was setting. “Thank you.”

-


	2. Two

“She voluntarily withdrew.” Garcia stopped typing, tense in her seat as she looked up at him, eyes wide. 

Dave sighed, staring at the words on her screen, fighting the urge to curse. Joy hadn’t mentioned anything like that, and there were other things that didn’t quite match up.

JJ frowned, “Could you pull up her grades?”

“Her grades?” Dave repeated and JJ smiled. 

“Yeah, I remember college, I mean I wasn’t the type, but I had friends who would threaten to leave over bad grades.”

“She is a straight A student….normally…” Garcia replied, “however she got a B minus on a midterm just recently.”

“That seems like…”

“The fact that her phone pinged in her room overnight, but campus police found her room empty, the lack of card activity, and the missed contact with the sister,” Aaron interrupted, “we still can’t rule out foul play.”

Dave stared blankly at his friend for a moment before he nodded. “Right.”

JJ nodded towards the bullpen, “Looks like Bahni’s sister’s here, she might be able to confirm our theory.”

Dave had to resist the urge to thank them all before he headed down to meet Joy and her guest, all too aware of the faith they were putting in him. 

This whole thing, it was based on his trust in his daughter, and her research, which he couldn’t fault. He took a deep breath, doing his best to centre himself as he approached Joy and Bahni’s sister, allowing himself a moment to consider the woman who had reported her sister missing so quickly. 

It was clear she was concerned, and grateful to Joy. Reporting her sister missing only to be told it was too soon for anything to be done couldn’t have been easy. Calling Joy had likely been her last hope for something to be done sooner rather than later. 

Joy smiled at him as he stepped up to them, “Dad, this is Bahni’s sister Aasia.”

Dave offered the woman his best reassuring smile, “Thank you for coming.”

Aasia shook her head, “Thank you for helping.” She swallowed hard, “We were supposed to meet this morning, in DC, two hours of her mobile going to voicemail I called the campus police. Her phone’s in her room, but she isn’t, but they couldn’t do anything else.”

“There’s something I need to ask you about.”

Joy stiffened, frowning at him, and he shook his head. 

“Anything if it might help find Bahni.” 

“Did she tell you she was withdrawing from school?”

Joy froze, colour draining from her face before her gaze flicked off to one side. Dave fought back a sigh. Aaron was right, there was more than Joy was saying, but Dave wasn’t really one to talk. 

Aasia sagged, just a little, “She got a b minus on a midterm, her world was ending, but she picked up extra credit work and she was going to withdraw the request. Whatever has happened, it doesn’t relate to that. I need you to believe that.”

Dave nodded, “I do.”

Aasia managed a weak smile, “Thank you, what else do you need to know?”

“That’s all for now, we’re looking into her movements last night, and we’ll let you know if we hear anything new.” Dave motioned Anderson over, “Agent Anderson can show you to a family room, if you would like?”

Aasia nodded, “Thank you. I need to call my parents.”

Dave waited until she was out of earshot before turning to Joy, all too aware of how pale she still was. “I need to say something.”

Joy jumped, staring blankly at him for a moment before she shook herself, obviously forcing herself to focus. “Ok.”

“Sometimes emotion can cloud our judgement during an investigation. We see smoke, but there’s no fire.”

“You don’t think this is related to the other cases.” Joy’s voice was flat and Dave had to touch her, drawing her a little closer.

“I’m not saying that. No one is saying that, yet. I just want you to be prepared, to consider the possibility.”

Her gaze flicked away from his again, to the same point as before, then she swallowed hard, ducking her head.

It made his chest ache. 

“Hey, we are going to take this as far as it will go.” Dave waiting until he had her full attention again, “That just might not be where you’re expecting.”

-

She wasn’t in the trunk anymore.

It was still dark, but she was on the ground, the only padding the blanket that he had wrapped around her, carelessly, before leaving. 

She shivered, wrapping her arms around her knees, wishing for light. Wishing for a fresher smell than what the room she was in offered. 

Wishing for clothes. 

Her head ached, a weird mixture of hangover and physical trauma. She could smell blood, through she didn’t want to think about it. 

She thought she was in a cellar, maybe, somewhere underground somehow. 

It smelled musty, and the walls that she’d glimpsed, while he’d been with her and the light had been with him, had looked like stone. Like rock, not brick. 

There were no windows, only a vent, maybe, and the door he’d brought her through. 

The door he’d left through. 

She shuddered, pulling te soiled blanket tighter around her. 

Someone had to notice she was missing. She’d had plans. She wasn't the type to miss an appointment, a date. 

Someone would notice, and they would tell the police. 

Someone would notice.

-

Joy trailed after her father, up and into the boardroom. 

He had introduced her to his team, formally, after Agent Hotchner had agreed that there was the potential that Bahni could have been taken by the same person as the other four. 

Or had at least thought Bahni might be in danger. 

Joy wasn’t really sure why the man, the image of an FBI agent, sterner than the others, had agreed to help her. She was just glad he had, for whatever reason. 

Garcia, Penelope, the famed technical analyst her dad thought so highly of offered her a bright smile as they stepped into the room before her attention flicked back to her laptop screen. “I am mapping the route from the not so-awesome house party to Bahni’s dorm, which you can all see on the screen.”

Joy looked up, taking in the map that had appeared on the board, showing a street layout with icons spaced along the main streets. Joy stepped closer to the screen, trying to decipher what she was seeing. “What are those icons?” 

“Security cameras, they line the edge of the campus, and to answer your next question, that is amazingly good news for us, because that means we have feed for last night, which I can pull, like so.” 

Joy turned from the board to watch as Garcia typed, aware of her dad and the other two agents doing the same. She was aware of a video opening up on the board, but she couldn’t quite tear her eyes away.

“Start from 1am, then go forward.” Hotchner said, and Joy blinked, the spell broken. 

On the board the video flashed then started, showing a figure that she instantly recognised as Bahni. 

“Got her.” Garcia said. “She’s stumbling a little.”

Because she’s drunk, Joy thought, but she didn’t say it. She could feel that presence again, and there was an anticipation. She looked to the side of the board, to the shadow lurking at the edge, attention as focused on the footage as the rest of them. 

“She’s drunk, alone at night.” Jareau shook her head, “She’s a low-risk vic in a high-risk environment.”

The shadow hissed, hand raising, finger pointed at another figure on the screen. Not Bahni. “Him.”

Joy froze, staring at the figure, watching numbly as he stepped into the light, obviously attracted be Bahni. “Oh my God.”

“I see it.” Jareau said, leaning in towards the laptop screen, “Stop, back it up. Can you enhance that…”

Joy was only half aware of the conversation going on around her, the shadow’s manic dance barely registered as she stared, watching as the image enhanced. Finally, she knew what he looked like. 

Not just his appearance, that he was white and average and probably her age. But what he looked like when he was hunting. 

“Garcia, do they appear on camera again?” Hotchner again, focused. 

“No, not one of them.” Garcia’s voice was soft, horrified. 

Hotchner moved, and that caught Joy’s attention, drawing her away from the images on the screen, “Joy, you were right to come to us. We’ll open a case and coordinate with campus and Alexandria P.D.”

Her father stepped up beside her, “We will make sure this is their top priority.”

Joy nodded, numb, aware that the shadow was now just repeating the same word, over and over again. “Thank you.” She shook herself, took a deep breath, tried to get the shaking under control. “I just, I’ll be right back.”

-

Dave did his best to give Joy a little space, even if all he really did was wait for the coffee pot to fill then preparing two mugs. 

“She’s totally freaking out.” Zoe commented from her perch on the edge of the table, watching him. 

Dave sighed, then shook his head, “I can’t really blame her.” He said, facing the coffee pot. 

“No, it’s a lot.” Zoe chewed on her hair, a habit Dave had longed meant she was debating whether to tell him something she thought he wouldn’t like. 

“Spit it out kiddo.”

Zoe sighed, a huff of air that sounded so life like he almost forgot that she was dead. “She totally inherited your whole thing.” She motioned at herself and the air around them. “But, I’m not so sure she knows that.”

Dave frowned, turning to look at her, not caring, for the first time in years, what someone would think if they walked in on him right then. “How could she not know Zoe?”

“You realise no one really gets the medium level sensitive thing?” Zoe asked then sagged a little, “It’s really not that common, at least according to the statistics.”

Dave raised an eyebrow and Zoe shrugged. 

“Have you not noticed that all Doctor Reid has been doing for the last eight months if looking up statistics on the gifted right? And if you’re here when he’s doing that, it’s normally more interesting than watching you read files.”

Dave rubbed his forehead, “That does not surprise me, though it does worry me a little, but Joy is my first priority right now. The kid is just going to have to wait.”

“So….are you going to talk to her talk to her now?” Zoe asked, trailing behind him as he headed for his office. 

“No.” Dave replied and Zoe groaned. 

“You can not avoid this forever.” Dave couldn’t help but miss the early days, back when he was her hero and the man who had taken up her investigation and caught her killer. Back when she’d been somewhat in awe of him. 

Almost seven years later, she rarely held back anymore. 

“When she’s ready.” Dave replied as he reached his office doorway, his back to the rest of the office, “Not until she’s ready.”

“You might be waiting a long time.” Zoe replied, “And this girl might not have that long.”

Dave closed his eyes, taking deep breaths. Zoe wasn’t wrong on that, but he couldn’t risk the fragile new relationship he had with his daughter. Not unless he had no other choice. 

He stepped through the door, holding the mugs as peace offering and very deliberately not watching as Zoe slouched across the room to stand in the corner, arms crossed over her stomach. 

“Thanks.” Joy offered him a faint smile, cradling with mug in her hands. Dave settled on the table in front of her, waiting. 

“I have seen the worst a human being can do to another,” Joy said, after spending a moment visibly pulling herself together, “I went to Darfur on assignment, just after I got married but before Kai.” She swallowed, ducking her head, “I didn’t think this would get to me like this…”

Dave hesitated, and Zoe cleared her throat pointedly. He shook his head, reaching out to place a hand on his daughter’s knee, “Have you considered that maybe it’s bothering you this much because it’s personal?”

Joy startled, staring at him, “What?”

“Kathy Miller, NYU, 2006, the first disappearance on your list,” he said, “You went to NYU in 2006, that’s why you’re here. The reason you started this investigation.”

Joy stared at him, then shook her head.

“Joy, tell me about Kathy.”

Joy pulled away from him, shifting backwards on the couch, arms shifting to hug herself and Zoe gasped. 

“Oh no.” 

Dave frowned at her and she stared back for a long moment, before she shook her head, disbelief written across her face, “Really, you don’t get it?”

Dave turned away, focusing on Joy, “Joy please, I want to help.”

Joy wiped a hand across her cheeks then sighed, “I didn’t really know her, we only had one class together, but everyone knew what happened. There wasn’t a body, but her parents had a memorial and I went, because she was so young.” She paused, gaze fixing on a spot across the room. “And it could have been me.”

Dave winced, unable to stop himself from looking at Zoe. Far too many women died young. 

“What do you think?” Joy’s voice, a little steadier than it had been before drew his attention back to her, “What are the chances of finding Bahni?”

Dave let out a breath, considering, “Better because it was reported right away, and the investigation’s already started. I wish I could say we will find her, but realistically, I can’t. But we do have a picture, a lead, and we can build a profile.” He warmed up to his subject as he went, ignoring Zoe’s disappointed sigh. “We’ll go to the press, word will get out. Bahni has a shot she wouldn’t have had if you hadn’t gotten involved.” 

“You still don’t know why she got involved.” Zoe said, voice soft in the quiet of his office, “There’s more to this.”

Dave reached out, closing his hands around Joy’s fists where they were clenched together on her lap. “You need to focus on that.”

Joy nodded. “I’ll try.”

“That’s all I ask.”

-

Joy watched the press conference, along for the first time in hours. 

All she could think, watching her father and Agent Jareau was that the picture was nowhere near as clear as she’d first thought. She wasn’t even sure anyone was going to identify _him_ from it. 

She stilled, turning away from the end of the press coverage as she sensed someone in the doorway, shoulders relaxing just a little when she realised it was Agent Hotchner. 

“I thought I should come to see how you’re doing.”

Joy shrugged, “I know you’ve all said that this picture is good, the video is the best lead, but I just….”

Hotchner stepped a little closer, but still kept his distance. “The press conference, it was aimed to humanise her. If whoever has Bahni watched it, it’ll be harder for them to see her as just be an object.”

Joy nodded, “Dad said the same thing, I guess it’s just, hard.” She shrugged.

“We’re doing everything we can, so are the police, Bahni has the best chance possible, under the circumstances.” 

“And I really appreciate it, you all doing this.” Joy replied, meeting his gaze, all too aware of the weight of his gaze. This was the man her father described as being his best friend, she could trust him. 

“It’s what we do.” Hotchner replied, “I’m sure Dave will be keeping you up to date, but if you need anything…”

“Thank you.” Joy dredged up a smile and he nodded, stepping back and heading back to the conference room. 

Joy sighed, covering her face with her hands, fighting the urge to just cry. 

“No more.” 

Joy jumped, looking up at the figure who had replaced Hotchner in the doorway, long hair loose around her shoulders. 

“There will be no more.” 

Joy swallowed, “If we catch him.”

Kathy moved closer, frowning, “They have his picture. He won’t escape this time.” She said, voice hard, “But, they do not have all the facts.”

Joy flinched, shaking his head, “I’m sorry, I am not going to give them anything I can’t prove. I can’t tell them…” She closed her eyes, shaking her head, “I can’t tell them about you. You aren’t real, you aren’t really her. They need evidence, real evidence, not the things you whisper in my ear.”

Kathy’s frown deepened and she backed away. Joy could feel the weight of judgement in those eyes, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t tell her dad, who she’d only just started to have a relationship with, how broken his daughter really was. 

-


	3. Three

Walk ins, Dave’s experience had taught him, were typically an even spread of good and bad. 

Sometimes you got a reliable witness, sometimes you got the family of an extra victim you hadn’t known about before. Security, especially at Quantico, tended to be good enough to weed out the really bad crazies. 

Stepping into the hallway Dave spotted the security guard, and the man with him. Dave fought back his initial reaction, schooling his features. “Can I help you?”

The man stepped forwards, unconcerned by the man flanking him, “I’m the man in that video. I saw your press conference. You said you wanted to talk to me.”

A dark chuckle heralded the arrival of Dave’s second shadow, the one he really wished didn’t exist. “Well well, this should be fun.” Tommy stepped past Dave, stopping within the man’s personal space, and sniffed, “looks like someone wants to play.”

Dave clenched his jaw, taking a moment to compose himself before he nodded to the security guard. “I’ll take it from here. We have some questions that we hope you might be able to help us with.”

The man smiled, opening his arms wide, “That’s why I’m here.”

“Could I ask your name?”

“Sam Burnett.” Sam replied, unflinching. 

Dave managed a return smile, “Well then Mr Burnett, if you would like to follow me, I’ll get you settled in an interview room and I’ll grab Agent Jareau.” He shrugged, giving his best apologetic look, “I’m afraid procedure requires two agents be present.”

Sam shook his head, “That’s fine, I just hope I can be of some help.”

-

The guy set his teeth on edge, that was all Dave knew, though Tommy’s presence never failed to get his hackles up. He’d given Aaron and Joy a heads up, let them know that the man they’d caught on camera had come in by choice. 

Aaron had taken the details to Garcia for a deep dive, while Joy had reluctantly agreed to wait in his office until the interview was over. 

Under different circumstances he might have let her observe, but she was so on edge, and it was so clearly personal, he couldn't risk her interrupting. 

JJ, he could tell, had taken one look at Burnett and come to the same conclusion as he had. The guy was a scumbag, no doubt, but the fact he’d come in by choice and his whole attitude, it seemed unlikely he had taken Bahni himself. 

Or, if he had, she was already dead, and the odds of them finding her body were low. But he was hoping for the former. 

“Is that your birthstone?” Sam’s gaze had been immediately drawn to JJ’s necklace.

“My son’s.” JJ replied, rubbing her thumb over the stone. 

“It’s beautiful.” Sam said, smiling.

“Thank you.” Dave couldn’t help but admire JJ’s ability to not show how much the guy was creeping her out. The guy clearly had a thing for jewellery, and that was something to remember. “Could you just walk us through why you on Front Street at 1am?”

Sam reeled off his story, providing all of the information they needed and just a little more. He had his perfect alibi and he knew all the details he needed to give. 

Most people needed more prompting. Tommy offered a running commentary, something that Dave sadly couldn’t block out. Serial killers had a tendency to notice things about one another that ended up being important further down the line. If he was stuck being haunted by one, Dave was sure as hell going to use it to his advantage. 

“He saw her, and he thought he wanted her, but someone else got there first.” Tommy judged, “He’s not going to tell you everything, but he wants so badly to know what you have.” Tommy laughed, “Stupid mistake.”

JJ stalled Sam’s digging, leaning towards him, letting her necklace dangle over the table. “Explain one thing to me, Sam. Why did you step back into the doorway?”

The distraction of the necklace threw him off, and he frowned, wavering, just a little, “How do you mean?”

“You saw Bahni coming, you stepped back into the doorway to let her pass, then you followed her.” JJ’s voice was hard, and Dave watched as Sam’s hands started to clench into fists. 

“Oh, he doesn’t like blondie, not one bit.” Tommy laughed, “Questioned by a woman.” 

“I came here because you asked me to. Maybe that was a mistake, after that guy went off with that girl, I got a fare.” His hackles really were up, Dave thought, staying silent, not wanting to interrupt the flow of it. “My cab has GPS, so if you don’t believe me, you can check it out and, maybe, I should get a lawyer.”

Dave exchanged a look with JJ, then met Sam’s gaze, “That won’t be necessary, we appreciate you coming in Mr Burnett.” 

Dave stood, then moved to the door, pulling it open for Sam. “You’re given us a lot to think about.”

Sam looked between them, unmoving for a moment before the smile returned. “Just being a concerned citizen.” He stood, moving leisurely towards the door, where he stopped, turning back to JJ, “I really hope you find that girl.”

-

Joy couldn’t believe what she was hearing, not after everything that had happened. Not after everything she’d seen. “You just let him go?” 

“His alibi checks out, he didn’t take Bahni.” Her dad replied, and she shook her head, turning away from him, “He saw the guy who took her, but it wasn’t him.”

Kathy growled, leaning into her dad’s personal space and Joy couldn’t help but wish that he could see her too. That he could have to deal with her, with answering to the dead victim of the man he had released.

“You said Bahni had a shot because we had a picture and a profile.” Joy said, throwing his words back in his face as she paced. 

“In this case, the picture does not match the profile.” 

She couldn't understand how he could be so calm in the face of their one lead coming up empty. “He _followed_ her.”

He sighed, shoulders slumping a little, “I know, and yes, there is something off about him, but he did not take Bahni. I’m sorry.”

Kathy backed off a little, eyes narrowed as she eyed him before turning her attention to Joy, “Might be some hope for your old man after all.”

“Did you check his priors?” Joy asked, crossing her arms over her stomach. There had to be something, he couldn’t possibly be clean. A man like him couldn't possibly have gone completely unnoticed. 

“Nothing, he’s clean.” Her dad held the sheet out so she could read it, basic personal information and absolutely no record of any arrests. “Joy, I am doing everything I can.”

Joy swallowed hard, “I know you are, dad.” She turned away, aware of Kathy’s curious gaze, “I just, I need some air ok?”

If they weren’t going to do anything about him, she would just have to do something herself. 

-

He was so angry. So so angry.

She tried to curl away from him, hiding her face. Hiding her hair. She didn’t dare cover her ears, there was no point. 

There was a woman, and she had made him angry. She hadn't bowed down to him, hadn’t accepted him unquestioning. 

She hoped that meant that someone knew he was bad. That he needed to be stopped. That he was dangerous. 

She hoped. 

The woman had challenged him. Seen through him. Ruined it for him.

She shuddered, wishing she could do something more than just try to shield herself from all that anger.

But he was between her and the door and he hadn't left her anything but the blanket.

Hadn't brought her anything but the blanket, the light and his anger.

-

Dave frowned, glancing at his watch then at the sheet on his desk. Sam Burnett, creep with absolutely no record. Something that bothered him in ways he couldn’t begin to put into words. 

Another look at his watch and Zoe nudged him with a foot. “Go find her.”

Dave glared, then nodded, “You’re right, ok, I’m going.”

He headed for the conference room, aware that that was where most of the others were gathered going through what they had. If Sam wasn’t their unsub, there had to be something else. 

Joy wasn’t with them, and that was enough to solidify the sense of dread that had been building in his stomach. “Has anyone seen Joy?”

“Not for while, why?” Morgan asked, catching the concern in Dave’s voice. 

Dave hesitated, “She asked about Sam’s rap sheet, I didn’t think it through, I just showed her it…”

“And she’s a journalist.” JJ said, catching what he was avoiding saying. “She wouldn’t pass up a lead.”

Garcia was already typing, not needing any further prompting. “Sam Burnett, no record, just the basic info.”

“He’s about the same age as Joy.” JJ said, eyeing the file over Garcia’s shoulder. 

Dave closed his eyes, just for a moment, swallowing, “Where did he go to college?”

“He dropped out of NYU in 2006.” Garcia said, looking up at him. 

“That’s the same time Kathy Miller went missing.” Morgan said, “And you both said you got a bad vibe off this guy.”

“So, we’re not just dealing with the one unsub.” JJ said, “Burnett didn’t take Bahni, but he might still be an unsub.”

“Two unsubs in a target rich environment.” Reid said, “It wouldn’t be unusual.”

Dave shook his head, cursing himself and his daughter’s lack of sense, “Two unsubs, and Joy is going to confront the one we know. Garcia, can you ping her phone.”

“She’s….in the alley where Bahni was last seen.”

“And Sam?” Morgan asked. 

“In the same place.” Garcia whispered. 

“Damnit, JJ, Morgan…” Dave headed out, trusting the other two to follow him. 

Aaron stepped out of his office just as Dave drew level with his own, cell in hand. “Dave.”

Dave held up a hand, shaking his head, “Aaron, I don’t have time right now….”

“Dave.” There was an edge to Aaron’s voice, one that only ever meant something bad, “Bahni wasn’t the only girl to go missing last night.” 

Dave froze, aware of Morgan and JJ both coming to a halt behind him as well. “What?”

“Elaine McIntosh. Her family and friends saw the press conference for Bahni, and it prompted them to try to get hold of her, but they had no luck.” 

Morgan moved a little closer, “What about the police?”

“They found Elaine’s phone in a dumpster.” Aaron replied, “She’s a student at Georgetown rather than Judy Temple.”

“Two victims, two unsubs.” JJ said, and Dave shook his head. 

“Joy is with Burnett, in the alleyway where Bahni was last seen.” Dave met his friend’s gaze, tense with the need to get to his daughter. 

“Go, bring her and Burnett back with you.” Aaron stepped out of his way. 

“Don’t worry, we will.” Dave heard Morgan promise, and he was grateful to the other man. Under different circumstances he wouldn't have just walked away, he would have waited for a plan, but Joy was his daughter, and she was in danger. 

-

Joy couldn’t look away from Kathy, the way she was looking at Sam. She had never seen that level of anger on anyone’s face before. 

Kathy had tried to make contact with him, clawing at him, kicking, anything, but nothing had made contact. Sam was still untouched, still smug. 

Joy swallowed, forcing herself to focus. She really couldn’t afford to be distracted, if Sam did anything, if he tried anything, Kathy would be no help. There were no cameras, and not a single person had seemed concerned as they’d stepped through the crowd and down the alleyway. 

“They just disappeared?” Joy asked, “I mean, did he put her in a car? What did you see?”

Sam’s smile widened and he lent in close, ignorant to Kathy’s growls of protest. “I saw everything. It happened right here.”

Joy stepped back, only to find her back was against the wall, cornered in the last place she should be with a man she knew to be a serial killer. “Why didn’t you tell the authorities?”

Best not to let him see he had her rattled. No weakness. 

“Because,” he stepped away, giving her just a little breathing room, “I could have helped her and I didn’t.” He shrugged, a look of such fake insincerity crossing his face that Joy wanted to claw at it, just as Kathy had tried. “I feel so bad about it. Who just stands there and does nothing? I could have made a difference to that girl’s life.”

Joy shuddered, and Kathy laughed. “Listen to him. Like he thinks he can’t see what he is, what he really means.”

“And in the end, I just walked away.” He turned, almost dramatically, so caught up in his story, in his emotional account. It made Joy feel sick. 

She swallowed back the urge to get away, to run. She had gotten herself into this situation, she would get out. “It isn’t too late.” She moved a little closer to him, all too aware of the way Kathy was watching her. “You can tell them whatever you can, and it might help Bahni.”

His gaze fixed on her necklace, and Kathy nodded, “He wants it, for his collection.”

Joy tensed, ready, having picked up enough over years of crime reporting to know what was likely to come next. 

“One thing I remember,” he moved closer again, forcing her back against the wall, one hand coming up to touch her neck. “When they got right here, he did this.” He tightened his grip, then shifted it, wrapping the chain of her necklace around his thumb. 

“What are you doing?” Joy pushed back against him and he loosened his grip, just a little. 

“I’m showing you what he did.” Sam said, “Isn’t that what you wanted? For your story.”

Joy laughed, “Look at you, you’re excited.” She met his gaze, forcing herself not to shake, taking strength from Kathy’s presence. From the knowledge that it was only a matter of time before her dad figured out what she was doing. “This is what you did to Kathy isn’t it?”

He blinked, frowning, “Kathy?”

“Kathy Miller.” 

“I haven’t heard that name in a long time. I remember her, a real tragedy.”

Joy snorted, “That’s not how Kathy tells it.” 

“What are you talking about?” 

“You killed her.” Joy said, firm, certain. She might not have known his name, but she’d known what had happened to Kathy for years. Years of knowing but doing nothing. 

“Murderer.” Kathy yelled into his face. 

“No, I only said I remembered her.” Sam growled, “Everyone remembers what happened to her.”

He stumbled back, away from her as a SUV drew up next to them with a squeal of tyres, doors opening. He held up his hands, backing away from her, “We were just talking agents.”

Agent Morgan pulled out cuffs, and Sam tensed. “Sam Burnett, you are under arrest.”

“What for?” Sam struggled, and Morgan pushed him against the SUV as Agent Jareau rounded it from the other side. 

“Assault, and you are a person of interest in a number of murder cases.” Jareau said, helping Morgan get Sam into the back of the SUV, reciting Sam’s rights. 

Her dad stepped up to her, watching as the door closed on Sam’s angry face, the tinted windows making him almost invisible. 

Joy waited for it, for the lecture she was sure she was due, but it didn’t come, he just stood there, silent. She swallowed, glancing at Kathy who raised her eyebrows, expectant. “He killed Kathy, dad, I know he did.”

Her dad sighed, “Why didn’t you trust me?” 

Joy hesitated, then closed her eyes, “I didn’t think anyone would believe me. I’ve never,” she bit her lip, fighting for the right words, “I’ve never really talked about any of this.”

“Are you going to tell me what this is?” Her dad asked and she was aware of Jareau and Morgan keeping their distance, standing on the other side of the SUV having a conversation over the phone. 

“Not, not here, but, I know he killed Kathy dad, I couldn’t let him go free.”

Her dad watched her for a moment before he sighed, looking weary, “There’s another woman missing, we think he might have taken her.”

Joy froze, looking between her father and Sam’s vague profile. “What?”

“The family called, they saw the press conference about Bahni, they were concerned, the police found her phone in a dumpster.”

Joy closed her eyes, aware of Kathy moving closer. “I told you.” She hissed, close enough that Joy could feel her breath on her cheek and she gasped, fighting back tears. 

“Hey, we are going to find both of them.” Her dad’s hands on her arms brought her back to the moment and she opened her eyes. 

“I was attacked, the week before Kathy went missing,” Joy whispered, “I was drunk and walking home alone. A guy in a ski mask grabbed me and, he, umm.” She swallowed hard, “he dragged me into the bushes and I was screaming and screaming but no one….so I fought. Because no one was rescuing me. I scratched at him, I jabbed my thumb in his eye and he ran off. But I didn’t…” She stopped giving into the tears. 

“You didn’t report it.” 

“No. People, I’d heard all the things people said about drunk college girls, and I, couldn’t do it. I couldn’t be one of them.” She wiped at her eyes, looking up, past him, at Kathy, “I’m sorry.”

“Hey, no, none of this is your fault.” Her dad gripped her shoulders, drawing her attention, “It wasn’t the same guy, the dirtbag who attacked you wasn’t organised, he was impulsive. That’s not, that’s not the kind of man who could do what was done to Kathy.” Her dad was firm, certain in his belief and she sagged, but it didn’t ease the guilt. Not when Kathy was standing there, watching, unchanged since that day in 2006. 

“How does any of this help Bahni, or the other woman?” Joy asked, determined to focus. She’d ignored Kathy’s warning, had refused to suggest there was another victim, but now they knew. Now there was evidence, and she wasn’t going to hold back anymore. 

Agent Jareau approached them slowly, clearly having been waiting for the right moment, “Did Sam give you anymore details?” 

Joy frowned, tugging her phone out of her pocket, “I recorded it all.” She reset it to the beginning and played it for them, aware of Morgan edging closer. 

“He was getting off toying with you.” Her dad’s voice was soft, edged with anger and she couldn’t stop herself from reaching out, squeezing his hand. 

“Can you go back to the beginning?” Jareau asked, and Joy nodded, hitting play again, “He paused when you asked if he saw Bahni getting put into a car. Like he didn’t want to give you a clue.”

“We need to look at the security videos again, run registrations.” Her dad said and Jareau nodded, pulling out her phone and dialing. 

Joy gripped her dad’s arm, “That helps Bahni, what about the other woman?”

-


	4. Four

Joy followed her father up to his office, all too aware of Kathy trailing behind. 

She’d watched Jareau and Reid head off, to the address of the man who had taken Bahni. 

The man who had stalked her for months before making his move. The man who wasn’t Sam Burnett, and who hadn’t killed any other women. He’d been slowly working up to it, but Bahni was his first. 

Joy watched as her dad closed the door to his office, the first time he’d done it since she’d arrived, files in hand. His back was tense as he stood for the longest moment, his back to her.

He took a deep breath, then he turned, meeting her gaze, “I need you to be honest with me.”

Joy frowned, “Dad, I have been, I told you everything.” 

He shook his head, “No, Joy, you didn’t.” He hesitated, looking away from her and running a hand through his hair, clearly struggling. “You didn’t tell me you’re a sensitive.”

Joy stilled, glancing at Kathy then hoping he hadn’t noticed, “I don’t know what…”

Her dad held up a hand, shaking his head again, “Aaron flagged you as soon as you walked in, he mentioned it to me, before, but I didn’t say anything, because I wanted it to be something you told me yourself. When you felt ready.”

Joy stiffened, “But he...how?” That wasn’t possible. Sensitives had some sense of other gifted people, she knew that, everyone knew that, but no one had even said anything to her.

“You flinched,” Dave answered, “just like every sensitive the first time they encounter him.”

“You did.” Kathy agreed, “Like you smelled something nasty.”

Joy thought back, trying to remember and there was the flash of different things, different aspects. “I guess I did, but I still don’t understand.”

“Aaron’s a shifter.” Her dad shifted his weight, obviously uncomfortable telling her, “Human form, you, you smelled blood or tasted it? It would have been mixed in with other smells and tastes, but it will have been the strongest.”

Joy swallowed, then nodded, a chill running down her spine. There were so many stories, so many urban myths around human form shifters, everyone knew that sensitives could identify them by their specific tell tale sense. She just hadn’t ever connected the nature of the stories with just what that sense was. 

“Oh.”

Her dad laughed, and it held a bitter edge, “Don’t believe any of the stories.”

Joy shook her head, “I don’t. Just like….” She paused, watching her father, “the stories about mediums.”

He sagged visibly and made his way to the couch to slump down and she followed silently. Waiting for him to get himself together.

“On that recording, you said, Kathy had told you.”

Joy nodded, “Yeah. I’ve, been seeing her, since a few days after she disappeared.” She hesitated, “I would have gone to the memorial anyway, but…”

“You knew she was dead, and she was with you, so you went to be close to her family.” 

Joy nodded, “Yeah. It was the only time she was calm, that whole first year. I had no idea what to do, I want to doctor’s they said,” she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them again, “they told me it was part of my gift, but that she wasn’t Kathy, she was just the manifestation of my subconscious.”

“Your guilt.” 

Joy nodded, “They taught me ways to deal with it, and she, was around less.”

“Until….”

“She woke me up, last night, this morning. She knew what he had done, what had happened. I thought I’d just stirred it all up, with my research, but….”

“It’s, the traditional term is companion spirit,” her father’s voice was soft, “over the years, I’ve had ten different companions. Rarely more than two at a time.”

“You….”

He nodded, “At the moment, I have Zoe, she died the night she met me, because she revisited a crime scene at the same time as the unsub. She’s, it’s like having a girl Reid with me all the time.” Joy stared at her father, listening, taking it all in. “And, Tommy. He’s, one of the serial killers I put behind bars. He enjoyed playing with me when he was alive, and obviously, he didn’t want to stop.” 

Joy’s eyes widened, “Oh god dad, I’m…”

He held up a hand, silencing her, “It’s not important right now. Right now, I need you to tell me about Kathy, because she might just be the key to finding Elaine McIntosh alive.”

 

-

Dave led Joy into the conference room where Aaron, Morgan and Garcia were waiting. 

“They found Bahni alive.” Morgan said, “They have her abductor in custody, and she’s on the way to the hospital.” 

“Was she…” Joy stepped towards Morgan, who shook his head. 

“She got banged around some, has at least a mild concussion, but otherwise, she’ll recover. We got to her in time.”

Dave watched Joy take a shaking breath, then offer Morgan a smile, “Thank you.” 

Morgan shook his head, “Now, we just need to figure out what happened to Elaine.”

“With Sam in custody, it’s matter of profiling his actions.” Aaron said, crossing his arms over his chest and nodding to Garcia who pulled up Sam’s file. Again. Then a map, highlighting Sam’s movements of the night before. 

“We searched his apartment and we found a box of jewellery.” Morgan said, “It looks like one memento from each of the four previous victims.”

“We knew he liked jewellery.” Dave agreed, looking at Joy, watching as she fingered her necklace, the very one Sam had wrapped around his thumb when they’d pulled up. He didn’t think he’d ever been so scared before in is life. 

“Let’s walk through the night.” Aaron prompted, “Start from the beginning.”

“Well, he saw Bahni’s abduction, we all heard how he talked about it, the admiration. He picked up a fare straight after, one that could be tracked.” Morgan said, “He built himself an alibi for Bahni, which matches the fact everything says he is organised.” 

Dave nodded, “But, he couldn't get past the jealousy, or the need. He came so close with Bahni, but he was beaten to it.” 

“He dropped off his fare and he moved to another area, away from where he saw Bahni.” Aaron picked up the thread, gaze fixed on the map and the hole that was Sam’s movements from 2am onwards. 

“And then he picked up a new victim of his own.” Morgan said, “He took her somewhere, somewhere he was happy to leave her when he came here. He wasn’t worried about her being found.”

“Does that mean she’s dead?” Joy asked, and Dave shook his head. 

“Tell them what you told me, about Kathy.”She hesitated, and he reached out, taking her hand, “Hey, it’s ok.”

“You aren’t going to get any judgement from us.” Garcia piped up, offering Joy a reassuring smile. “You are in a room with a sensitive, a fire elemental, a shifter and my fine category defying self.”

Dave smiled, “Garcia’s one of those rare elemental sensitives.” 

Joy laughed despite herself, “So you’re all gifted?”

Morgan nodded, “Well, boy genius is ungifted, but he’s a genius, so we figure it balances out.”

“I, Kathy has been talking to me.” Dave wasn’t surprised that none of them looked surprised. His own denial had stopped him from seeing in his daughter what the other likely all saw in him, every damn day. 

“Has she told you much about Sam’s MO?” Aaron asked and Joy gave a shaky nod. 

Garcia pulled up a new search box, “I am ready and willing to do what I do.”

Joy hesiated one last time, then started talking. She paused every once in a while, clearly waiting for Kathy to give her more information, and when she was done, they worked at filtering it down. 

Sam liked cellars, preferably in out of the way abandoned buildings. Somewhere people had no reason to look, but easy to secure. Cellars were ideal, he could renovate with no one the wisher, leaving the house above as it was when he found it. 

Given the timings, Elaine’s abduction time, the press conference and Sam’s arrival at Quantico, they narrowed it down to two potentials. Aaron called JJ and Reid, sending them to the one closest to the hospital. Dave and Morgan got the other, leaving Joy with Aaron and Garcia.

-

Elaine shivered, hunching up under the blanket. She couldn’t sleep, even if she wanted to. 

The lack of food or drink, the hard floor, her various aches and pains, and the constant dread that he would return any minute. 

It had been hours since he’d left, or so she thought. 

His beating had been bad enough that she had mercifully passed out, only waking once he was gone and the space was once again in darkness. 

Or that was what she hoped. 

Part of her wanted him to come back, the dim hope that if he did, he would bring her food, or water. The other part of her thought it might be better if he never came back. 

She stiffened, hands clenching around the blanket at the sound of the bolt being drawn back. Her heartbeat was loud, thudding in her ears as she waited. 

The light flickered to life and she flinched, already knowing that all he would ever really have to offer her would be pain. 

Only, it wasn't his voice that she heard. 

A shadow knelt beside her, another woman, about her own age, who offered her a gentle smile. “It’s ok, you’re safe now.”

Elaine frowned, “How did you find me?”

The woman shook her head, “I followed him, but they’re the ones saving you.” She pointed towards the doorway, where two men stood. “It’s over, you’re safe.” She whispered, leaning forward to press her lips to Elaine’s forehead. “Live a good life, don’t let him win.”

And she was gone. 

Only the two men remained.

-

Dave stepped into his office, to find his daughter curled up on the couch with Zoe watching over her. Not that Joy would have any idea that the other woman was there. 

“We found Elaine, she’s alive.”

Joy nodded, “Agent Hotchner told me. I’m glad.”

“You saved two lives.” Dave said, lowering himself down onto the table, preferring to be able to look at her straight on. They had a lot still to talk about, and then, he supposed, it was time that he talk to the others. 

Convince Reid that even if his kid turned out to be gifted, like Maeve, it wouldn’t be a bad thing. Maeve’s gift, after all, had saved her life. 

Joy sniffed, drawing his attention back to her, away from his mental plans. “She’s gone.” Joy said, wiping at her cheeks. 

Dave hesitated, trying to ignore Zoe’s frantic hand motions, he would make his own damn choices about how to handle this. “Kathy?”

Joy nodded, “Yeah, we were watching as Agent Jareau led _him_ away, and she just…”

“Faded away.” Dave said, reaching out to take her hands, giving them a gentle squeeze. “That happens.”

Joy stared at their joined hands and the silence dragged on for a few minutes before she finally spoke, “What do you think it means?”

Dave laughed despite himself, “I wish I knew.” He shook his head, “I was raised Catholic, by an extended family of catholics and sensitives. My nona used to see the dead too, she was the one who guided me, as a kid. She used to say that it was their time to move on, that their unfinished business was done, but honestly? None of this exactly fits strict catholic beliefs.”

Joy shook her head, finally lifting her head to look at him, “No, I mean, what do you think?”

Dave met his daughter’s gaze, and took a moment to consider how to answer. “I, would like to believe that when they fade, it’s because they’ve found peace, or fulfilled their purpose.”

Tommy snorted, muttering something about stupid softies, but it was nothing new. Even dead the guy was a pain in the ass. 

“Her killer finally got caught,” Joy said, “I finally listened, after all these years.”

“I said this before, but I will say it again, until you believe me, you didn’t know.” Dave reached out, covering her hands with his own, “You didn’t know, you asked for advice and they told you she wasn’t who she appeared to be. None of this is your fault.”

“Or mom’s?” Joy asked.

Dave let out a breath, shaking his head, “Hayden only ever knew that I was a sensitive, I never told her how strong I am, about companion spirits, talking to dead, none of it.” He sighed. “I’ve never really spoken to anyone about it. Aaron knows some, but to be honest that’s mostly because he could tell I wasn’t just some low level sensitive.”

Joy looked startled, “He can tell how strong you are as well as what you are?”

Dave shrugged, “If you ask him, I would lay good odds on him giving you some kind of evasive answer. He talks even less about his abilities than I do mine, and that’s saying something, and not the point.” Dave took a breath, “Your mom had no idea that you might inherit this type of gift and she doesn’t have any experience with sensitives.”

Joy nodded, “She told me I had inherited it from my father’s side. My step dad was a sensitive as well, so at the time….”

“It’s nobody’s fault. If anything, the time it’s taken, this coming after we finally met, it’s what allowed this to happen.” Dave said, choosing to believe that it was god giving them a chance to save two lives, and get their heads out of their asses. “We saved those two woman because of your gift, and god know how many more there might have been if we hadn’t stopped them.”

Joy frowned, “You mean you think they both would have kept killing?”

Dave nodded, “Sam had no record, he was never a suspect. He did everything possible to conceal his activities, no one had even connected the missing girls until you came along. Tom Larson, his father made him, shaped him into who he is. I think, if he’d killed Bahni, he would have found someone else.”

Joy shuddered, “My gift isn’t just a curse.”

Dave opened his mouth to correct her then sighed, shaking his head. “You know what I’ve decided? With all of my years of experience,” she smiled, just as he’d hoped she would, “it isn’t a blessing or a curse, it’s what you choose to make of it.”

“Even if it means putting up with a dead serial killer?”

“Even if.” He agreed and Joy leant forwards, wrapping her arms around him. 

Dave relaxed into the hug, pressing his lips against her hair. It would take some time, and some work on both their parts, but they would get through it. 

His daughter would find her own peace, just like Kathy Miller had.


End file.
